THE BEST Roland

Roland’s latest electronic rhythm maker, the TR-6S packs a six-track sequencer into a portable, battery-powered box. What really makes it special is its ability to play sounds from famous drum machines like the 808, 909, 707, 606, along with preset and custom samples, as well as FM-generated tones.

Digital musical instrument maker Roland introduces us to Jong Chan Kim, who came up with a hypermodern design for a grand piano. Since digital pianos don’t depend on acoustic properties, he was able to come up with this futuristic low-poly design. The Facet has powerful speakers built into its base, and a flat screen for sheet music.

Techmoan shows off some more more awesomely weird retro tech. The Roland MT-80S was a compact music player that played back MIDI files using songs stored on a 3.5 inch floppy disk. Since it was designed for learning music, it also packed a digital metronome.

The Roland TR-08 looks and works exactly the same as its grandfather, the TR-808, but in a much more portable form. You can even power it with batteries. It doesn’t sound quite as crunchy as the original, but for its price and size it’s a hell of a deal.

The spiritual successor to the legendary TR-808, the TR-8 Rhythm Performer combines the distinct sound of the TR-808 and TR-909 with a ton of new features for the modern musician. Part of Roland’s new AIRA series.